SB 



59th Congress, ) HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, j Report 
1st Session. j 1 No. 4399. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 



May 22, 1906. — Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the 
Union and ordered to be printed. 



Mr. Wadsworth, from the Committee on Agriculture, submitted the 

following 

REPORT. 

[To accompany H. R. 19573.] 

The Committee on Agriculture, to whom was referred several bills 
having for their purpose the acquisition of national forest reserves in 
the Appalachian and White mountains, beg leave to submit the follow- 
ing report and recommend that the accompanying bill do pass without 
amendment. 

This is a bill enacting that the Secretary of Agriculture be author- 
ized and directed to acquire by purchase, condemnation, gift, or other- 
wise, lands suited to national forest-reserve purposes in the Appala- 
chian Mountains within the States of Maryland. West Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, and in 
the W T hite Mountains, in the State of New Hampshire, to be known as 
the Appalachian Forest Reserve and the White Mountain Forest 
Reserve, respectively, etc. 

It is identical with Senate bill 4953, and at the last regular meeting 
of this committee it was unanimously agreed that this committee adopt 
said bill (S. 4953) and the report thereon (S. Report 2537), which said 
report is therefore adopted and incorporated in this report, with slight 
additions, and the said bill adopted without change. 






APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 



Senate Report No. 2537, Fifty-ninth Congress, first session. 

The Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, 
to whom was referred the bill (8. 34) for the purchase of a national 
forest reserve in the White Mountains, to be known as the National 
White Mountain Forest Reserve, and the bill (S. 408) for the purchase 
of a national forest reserve in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, 
to be known as the National Appalachian Forest Reserve, have given 
the same careful consideration and beg leave to submit the following 
report: 

After a thorough discussion of the general subject it was deemed 
advisable to report an original bill in lieu of the two bills referred to 
the committee. This bill is substantially the legislation recommended 
by the American Forestry Association and the National Board of 
Trade, and it has received the indorsement of other organizations. 
It authorizes and directs the Secretary of Agriculture to purchase or 
otherwise acquire lands suited to national forest-reserve purposes in 
the Appalachian Mountains within the States of Maryland, West Vir- 
ginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, 
and Tennessee, and in the White Mountains within the State of New 
Hampshire, and to administer the said reserves under the laws gov- 
erning national forest reserves. 

There are suitable provisions in the bill for the purchase of lands, 
exclusive of the timber or mineral rights, for the acceptance of gifts 
of land, and for the reforesting of clearings wherever necessary for 
the protection of the soil or water suppl} 7 . 

The bill has received the approval of this committee with the clear 
understanding that the purchase of the whole Appalachian region or 
the total area of the White Mountains by the Federal Government is 
inadvisable. The ar«as included in the proposed Appalachian and 
White Mountain forest reserves are definitely confined to those por- 
tions of the two great mountain regions in which the proposed reserves 
lie, and which, through their value in the protection of navigation. 



JUL 14 1906 
D.ofO, 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 3 

water power, and other industries common to no one State, are essen- 
tially national in their function. 

The committee recommends the passage of this bill in the expecta- 
tion and belief that the total purchases of land to be made by the Gov- 
ernment in the establishment of the proposed reserves will not extend 
beyond the limits of the 5,000,000 acres contemplated by the present 
-/ plan. The White Mountain region has a well-defined limitation of not 
to exceed 800,000 acres. The Appalachian region, embracing the 
jfc headwaters of the Potomac, Monongahela, and Kanawha rivers on the 
J north and extending southward to the headwaters of the Alabama and 
Chattahoochee rivers, has within its boundary not more than 4,000,000 
acres which it would be desirable to purchase. A considerable per- 
centage of it consists of valley lands, which should remain perma- 
nently in cultivation and be occupied by the farms and the settlements 
which it is eminently desirable to leave undisturbed. Another large 
portion is held by private individuals, who have expressed the strongest 
preference for retaining their holdings, and the law nuw proposed pro- 
vides that they may do this so long as they perpetuate the forest 
cover. 

It is confidently believed that the purchase bv the Government of 
5,000,000 acres of mountain lands as now proposed will enable the 
Government to so control the situation as to guarantee the perma- 
nence of the forests over an area of more than twice their extent. 

It is not expected that the several States will consent to cede to the 
General Government the control of any forest lands beyond the limits 
that may be necessary for the protection of the sources of these impor- 
tant interstate streams, for the reasons (1) that the lands so ceded will 
be forever released from State taxation and control, and (2) the finan- 
cial success of the national reserve which it is now proposed to estab- 
lish will demonstrate to these States the fact that additional reserves 
owned and controlled by the State will become highly profitable 
sources of future revenue. 

This conclusion is not based upon mere theoretical considerations 
but upon the actual experience not only of our own present forest 
administration, but also upon that of continental Europe. In Russia, 
Austria, Switzerland, as in France and Germany, many forest reserves 
are owmed by the cities, villages, and states; and these reserves are so 
highly valued as sources of revenue that under no consideration would 
they be surrendered to the Federal Governments. The same will 
come to be true in our Eastern States. 

The Federal Government having demonstrated, as it will do, the 
financial advantages of such an undertaking, the several Eastern 
States, rather than ask the Federal Government to extend the boun- 
daries of the national reserves now proposed, will, in the future, estab- 
lish many local forest reserves for the perpetuation of the timber 
supph 7 and for the protection of the local streams which lie entirely 
within their own borders; and from these local forest areas these 
States will derive an increasing revenue. 

To carry into effect the provisions of the bill it is proposed to appro- 
priate an amount not to exceed $3,000,000, which sum is to be avail- 
able immediately and until expended. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 



The following argument, which shows the urgent need of the legis- 
lation proposed, is submitted herewith as embodying the views of the 
committee: 

First, the creation of these reserves is wise public policy. Between the census 
years 1850 and 1900 the population cf the country increased from 23,000,000 to 
76,000,000, or 330 per cent, but the money value of the lumber product which it 
consumed increased from $60,000,000 to $566,000,000, or 940 per cent. Both the 
per capita consumption of timber and the price of timber are increasing. Both of 
the proposed reserve regions are chiefly natural forest land, more useful for the pro- 
duction of timber and water than for anything else. At present their forests are 
being rapidly destroyed. It is estimated that 24 per cent of the Southern Appa- 
lachian region has been deforested. Deforestation means loss of power to produce 
future forests. It is in the public interest that these lands should be acquired and 
held by the Government as permanent sources of timber supply. 

Second. The acquisition of these lands by the Government will be good business 
policy. The use of the western reserves as productive forest is only just beginning, 
but the Government receipts from these reserves are approximating one-half the 
outgo. Within a short term of years they will undoubtedly carry themselves. At 
the same time their property value is rising and will continue to rise, both from the 
increasing value of the timber and from the greater productiveness of the forest under 
management. With a present value of not less than $250,000,000, these western 
reserves are being administered at an annual cost of one-third of 1 per cent of this sum, 
while they are increasing in value fully 10 per cent a year. This is in addition to 
their enormous indirect returns to the public welfare from their indispensable rela- 
tion to successful irrigation, to mining and other industries which demand lumber, 
to settlers, and to stock grazing. Both in the Appalachians and in the White Moun- 
tains, if the lands are acquired at present prices and in their present condition, there 
is an opportunity for the Government to establish reserves which will prove profit- 
able investments under management, besides securing large benefits to the people of 
many States. 

Third. The creation of these reserves, now or later, is a necessary policy. Sooner 
or later the certain consequences of the forest destruction which is now taking place 
will force the National Government to step in. The question is not merely that of 
preventing the impoverishment of the immediate localities and the conversion of pro- 
ductive land into a waste of barren rock. The loss of the forest is followed by that 
of the soil and by recurring floods. The headwaters of every important river south of 
the Ohio and Potomac and east of the Mississippi, including tributaries of these 
streams, rise in the southern Appalachians, while the White Mountains feed impor- 
tant rivers of every New England State except Rhode Island. The rainfall of both 
regions is heavy and distributed throughout the year. In the southern Appalachi- 
ans it is heavier than anywhere else on the continent except on the northern Pacific 
Coast, and falls often in heavy downpours. 

After denudation every rain turns the shrunken streams into mountain torrents, 
which devastate property and bear down vast quantities of silt to obstruct navigable 
rivers. The sand bars thus formed accentuate the effect of alternating high and low 
water periods, and large Government expenditures for dredging and harbor improve- 
ments are entailed. The clearing of river channels and harbors in North Carolina, 
South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama is now being urged. Yet deforestation is 
only in its first stage. Eventually in this country, as has been the case in France, 
the stripped mountains will become so inimical to the public good that the Govern- 
ment will have to take charge of them and reforest them. But the expense of this, 
when once the forests are gone, will be only less ruinous than the damage which it 
will check, and the remedy will require many years to become operative. 

France began a work of reforesting denuded mountains in 1860, to repair so far as 
possible the damage which had followed the clearing of the forests under private 
ownership. By 1900 she had spent over $15,000,000 and acquired over 400,000 acres 
of land in this work, while annual expenditures were still going on at tbe rate of 
over $600,000 a year, and it was estimated that in completing the work the further 
purchase of over 425,000 acres of land and the additional expenditure of over 
$20,000,000 would be required. Owing chiefly to the necessity of acquiring for pro- 
tective purposes deforested land, almost one-fourth of the State-owned forest in 
France must be nonproductive for many years. By creating the proposed reserves 
now we shall secure a property which can be made to more than pay its way. If 
not created soon enormous expenditures without productive return will become 
necessary. 

The creation of these reserves is in the interest of agriculture. After clearing, 1 1 ion i 
or less of the land in the South is farmed for a short time but erosion is so rapid that 
within from five to ten years there is not enough fertile soil left to bear crops. All 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 5 

land that is truly agricultural will be excluded from the reserves. Such lands in the 
mountains themselves lie in narrow valleys along the streams, and after denudation 
are exposed to severe injury by floods. In the distant lowlands through which the 
waters pass on their way to the ocean the effects of deforestation are also felt in floods, 
which sweep out bridges, dams, and houses, and often spread barren sand over many 
acres of fertile fields. From April, 1901, to April, 1902, floods in the Smith, fed from 
the southern Appalachian region, did a damage estimated at $18,000,000. 

The creation of these reserves is important for manufactures. The water power fur- 
nished by streams from these two regions is of great importance, both north and south, 
and will be more important with the development of the use of electricity. A gain of 
from $15 to $30 per year for each horsepower developed, on the basis of a ten-hour 
day, lias been estimated as the advantage of w T ater over coal in point of economy. 
To the future industrial progress of the South forest preservation in the Appalachians 
is essential. The recent rapid manufacturing development, particularly of cotton 
manufacturing, in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia, has been largely 
assisted by the water power available. 

In these three States alone cotton mills operated by water power are now estab- 
lished, which have an annual production valued at over $<>(), 000,000. A still greater 
future development, which additional water powers not yet utilized promise, is 
endangered. A water power which is intermittent is worthless under modern busi- 
ness conditions. The manufacturers whose observations extend over a term of 
years have discovered an appreciable decline in the volume of the streams. The 
water power of this southern region already developed or being developed is esti- 
mated at 500,000 horsepower. The undeveloped water power is probably not less 
than 1,000,000 horsepower more. If the forests are permitted to take their present 
course a very large part of this power will be lost, entailing a severe blow to the 
prosperity of the South and lasting detriment to the entire country. 

The forests of both regions now 7 contain a heavy yield of mature timber. They 
are highly productive forests. In variety and size of hard-wood species, the Southern 
Appalachian region surpasses any other natural forest in the country. The tendency 
under private ownership of forest lands, even under management, is to the produc- 
tion of small timber. In the lumber industry, from the nature of the case, 
the law of supply and demand does not fully guard the public interest. Both ( rer- 
many and France at the present time find themselves confronted with a serious situ- 
ation, owing to their neglect to provide at the right time for trees which would reach 
maturity and furnish saw timber now or in the immediate future. Enough land is 
in forest, but the crop is not ready, and in consequence alarm is now being sounded 
in both countries. Ownership by the National Government of the reserves now 
proposed will help to maintain for the future a supply of lumber trees of a large size. 

The White Mountains and the Southern Appalachians are alike in being natural 
recreation grounds for a very large part of our population. Over 60,000,000 of the 
people of the United States are within twenty-four hours of the Southern Appala- 
chians, and the White Mountains have long held a foremost place as a summer 
resort, especially for the Northern and Middle Atlantic States. Both of these regions 
should be guarded and handed down to the generations which follow. They are 
great natural blessings with which we have been endowed and which we must 
protect. 

The question of the establishing of these reserves is not a local or a State question, 
but a national question. The interests affected are interstate. The evils which the 
reserves will check fall most heavily on distant communities, and even upon the 
National Government. Here again, if we are wise, we shall draw a lesson from 
French experience. In France the first efforts to repair the disastrous effects of tor- 
rents were made by engineers along the lower water courses. Dredging ami dams, 
however, proved at best but temporarily effective. Only when they began to push 
their work up to the headwaters of the streams did they find themselves on the right 
road. The Government now puts into the building of levees and the improvement 
of navigation in rivers and harbors many millions of dollars annually. The reserves 
constitute a far more economical expenditure for the same purpose, in addition to 
their large contributions to the public welfare. 

It is not right to expect the State within which these areas lie to reserve them for 
the benefit of other States. It is impossible for States which suffer from conditions 
outside their own territory to remedy them by their own action. There has been 
set aside in the West, for essentially the same purposes which these reserves will 
secure, a vast area of reserves created from the national domain and benefiting pri- 
marily the people of the West. But the interests involved both in the West and in 
the East are too broad to be regarded as even sectional merely. The benefits of 
the proposed reserves will be national benefits and their expense should be borne 
by the nation. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 
THE APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE. 



LOCATION. 



The portion of the Appalachian region under consideration for the 
location of this reserve extends from Maryland southwestward, compris- 
ing parts of Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, 
Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, and lying between the Piedmont 
Plateau on the southeast and the Appalachian Valley on the northwest. 
It consists of parallel chains of mountains, as the Blue Ridge and 
the Alleghany on the southeast and the Unaka Mountains on the 
northwest, with an irregular mountainous table-land lying between. 
The prevailing trend of the system is from northeast to southwest. 
Numerous smaller ranges, separated by narrow valleys and deep 
gorges, extend between the principal chains, some parallel and others 
at right angles to the parallel ranges. The whole region comprises an 
approximate area of 17,500 square miles, having an approximate 
length of 350 miles, while the width varies from 35 to 65 miles. It is 
not proposed that the reserve shall embrace any considerable portion 
of this section, nor that every part of the reserve shall lie contiguous 
to all the others. The discretion is left with the Secretary of Agricul- 
ture to purchase such lands as may be readily acquired and such as 
will prove most adaptable to the purpose in view. 



This is preeminently a region of mountains, and is of paramount 
importance for physiographic as well as for forest reasons. It includes 
the most prominent geographic features of the Southern States and 
contains the highest mountains east of the Mississippi River. Mount 
Mitchell, in North Carolina, is the highest peak, having an elevation 
of 6,712 feet. Over forty peaks and 6,500 acres of land, lying in the 
Blue Ridge and Unaka mountains and intervening ridges, have an ele- 
vation of over 6,000 feet, while the whole region has an approximate 
altitude of 2,500 feet. The slopes, though steep, are seldom precipitous, 
being rounded and softened by age, and are mostly covered by a deep 
soil which is kept porous by the decking vegetable matter, the mulch 
of the forest, and held in place by the roots of the trees, shrubs, and 
grasses growing upon it. In many of the transverse ranges, however, 
the bare and precipitous sides, carved from great masses of granite, 
lend a touch of variety to the sceneiy, and wherever the forests have 
been destroyed the soil, deprived of its support from the roots of the 
trees and the decaying leaves that cover it, quickly jnelds to erosion 
and yawning gullies scar the face of the hills. 

DRAINAGE. 

This region is drained by many large rivers, most of which rise in 
the Blue Ridge, for, though not the highest, this range is the oldest, 
and constitutes the divide for waters flowing east and west. On Grand- 
father Mountain, the highest point in the Blue Ridge, are two springs 
within a few feet of each other, the waters of one of which, flowing 
north, find their way by the New or Great Kanawha River into the Ohio 
and thence into the Misssssippi: while the other, flowing east, forms 
the headwaters of the Yadkin, which flows southeast through North and 
South Carolina and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. ( 

In this region rise many of the large rivers of the United States and 
all of the largest rivers south of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. 
The James, the Roanoke, the Yadkin, the Catawba, the two Broads, 
the Saluda, and the Chatooga flow into the Atlantic; the Coosa and 
Chattahoochee into the Gulf; the New finds its way by the Kanawha 
into the Ohio; while the Tennessee, with its large tributaries — the Hols- 
ton, the Watauga, French Broad, Big Pigeon, Hiwassee, and Little 
Tennessee — flow into the Mississippi. In addition to these dozens of 
other streams flow outward in all directions from this region and 
justify its claim to be considered one of the most important watersheds 
of the United States. 

WATER POWER. 

The descent of these streams is necessarily veiy rapid. Heading 
at altitudes of from 3,000 to 6,000 feet and leaving the foothills at 
from 1,000 to 2,000 feet, they must fall from 2,000 to 4,000 feet within 
the mountain region. Thus the Linville River, which rises on Grand- 
father Mountain, in North Carolina, descends at one place a distance 
of 90 feet in a linear distance of 100 feet, while in its whole length of 
36£ miles, to where it empties into the Catawba, it has a total fall of 
3,030 feet. This rapid descent of its streams has given rise to one 
of the most prominent topographic features which mark this region, 
namely, the deep and narrow gorges which have been cut through the 
mountain ranges, many of which are from 500 to 2,000 feet deep. 
The most noticeable of these gorges are those of the New River and 
Laurel Fork of the Holston River in Virginia; the Watauga, the 
Nolichucky, the French Broad, and the two gorges of the Doe River 
in Tennessee; the Tallulah River in Georgia; and the Big Pigeon, 
Little Tennessee, Nantahala, and Hiwassee in North Carolina. 

The rock formation of the greater part of this section consists mainly 
of gneissic rocks, bedded slates, and limestones, having generally a 
northeast to southwest strike. But owing to the elevation and rapidity 
of the streams, the general course of the larger rivers has been but 
little modified by the geologic structure, and they lie directty across 
the strike of the rocks. The resulting conditions produce occasional 
falls and cascades, but for the most part the descent of these rivers is 
accomplished in a series of rapids which furnish opportunities for the 
development of ample water power by the construction of dams at 
convenient locations. Where the trend of the rivers lies along the 
strike of the rocks, as is the case in northern Georgia, the water 
descends by shoals and cascades, some of which are of great height, 
and large water powers could be easity developed. The following 
table has been compiled showing the possibilities in this direction: 



River. 


Estimated 
horse- 
power. 


River. 


Estimated 
horse- 
power. 




60,000 
50,000 
60,000 
57,000 ■ 
43, 000 
77,000 
115,000 
140, 000 
100, 000 




75, 000 






100 000 






50, 000 
35, 000 










20, 000 
40, 000 




Holston 




Total 






1,0'J2, 000 


Tennessee 











b APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 

Estimating this power at $30 per year for each horsepower developed 
we have a total of over $30,000,000, the existence of which depends 
upon the regulation of the streams, and this in turn, as will be shown, 
upon the preservation of the forest areas. 

Of course it is possible only to approximate this question. But it 
is certain, however, that on all of these streams large amounts of power 
could be easily and cheaply obtained. The average fall of the streams 
is great, being noticeably large at many places, while the low-water 
flow, owing to the heavy rainfall and the storage effects of the great 
forests, is comparatively large. From the records of the United States 
Geological Survey a comparative list has been prepared, showing that 
the minimum flow of the rivers throughout the Carolinas and Georgia 
is larger per square mile of territory drained than on the rivers either 
of the New England or the Middle States. The lowest flow ever 
recorded on the Yadkin, the Catawba, the Broad of South Carolina, 
the Broad of Georgia, and the Savannah is 0.2 cubic foot per second 
per square mile, while the records show less than one-half this amount 
in the Susquehanna. It is estimated that 500,000 horsepower has been 
developed or is being developed along these streams. 

The following table, taken from the Charlotte (N. C.) Observer of 
January 23, 1906, shows the amount of power now being used to operate 
cotton mills in the Piedmont regions of the Carolinas and Georgia: 

Capital stock $33, 647, 500 

Number of spindles 2, 077, 831 

Number of looms 50, 91,'tf 

Number of employees 45, 685 

Number of horsepower 90, 495 

Number of bales per year (counting 11-hour day) 640, 895 

Total annual value of production ( approximate") $64, 060. 776 

Only the cotton mills are considered in this table. If we include 
the other milling interests of this region and the varied interests of 
Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Tennessee, and Alabama, which 
are not here enumerated, the grand totals would be greatly increased. 
All of these interests are vitally involved in the preservation of the 
Appalachian forests. 



This region contains the largest and most valuable hard-wood forests 
in the United States. On its slopes were born the hard-wood forests, 
which, disappearing on the north by contact with the ice and on the 
south, east, and west from the encroachment of the sea, found here 
those favorable conditions of soil, elevation, and climate which con- 
tributed to their successful growth and continuance. One hundred 
and thirty-seven species of trees and a still greater number of shrubs 
and smaller plants have been examined and classified by Government 
experts. Among these the most valuable, from a commercial stand- 
point, are the black walnut, cherry, yellow poplar, chesnut, oak, beach, 
ash, magnolia, and mulberry. The oak, of which the principal species 
are the white, red, yellow, chestnut, Spanish, and spotted oak, consti- 
tute Iry far the greater portion of the timber trees. They are found 
mostly on the southward slope of ridges and on the lower slopes, 
where they grade into the pine forests of the plains. Next in abundance 
is the chestnut, which constitutes 17 per cent of the forest. Hemlock 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 9 

is found on the well-watered portions of the northern slopes and is 
most abundant at altitudes of from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. White pine is 
found as a valuable timber tree over the entire area, but is most 
abundant in the Unaka Mountains and the cross ranges. Poplar has 
a wide distribution, while the buckeye, beech, birch, maple, cucumber, 
and linn are most abundant on the northern slopes. 

FUTUKE OF THIS REGION. 

This region is rich in minerals. It has limited but definite agricul- 
tural possibilities. The water-power possibilities, as shown above, 
are also of great importance, but the most important single resource 
of this section is its timber. The original forest was wonderful in the 
extent and variety, the density, size, and quality of its timber trees. 
Under present methods and conditions, however, this resource is being 
rapidly and dangerously depleted, and the three agencies that are con- 
tributing to its downfall are lumbering, forest tires, and clearings for 
farm purposes. 

LUMBERING. 

Lumbering operations are widespread, and, though primitive, the 
methods show a reckless disregard for future growth. A clean lum- 
ber job is seldom seen. Trees are felled without regard to the young 
growth. The logs are ''snaked" down the hillsides with mule teams, 
breaking down the young seedlings and wearing deep trails in the sides 
of the hills, which are soon converted by the heavy rains into yawning 
gullies. The tops of the trees and the branches are left on the ground 
to rot and become the breeding places of innumerable insects which 
attack the living growth. Under Government control this industry, 
directed into proper channels, would insure the preservation of the 
forests, furnish a valuable object lesson to private ownership, and 
contribute materially to the support of the reservation. 



The dried branches and tops of felled trees also furnish ready mate- 
rial for the spread of the great forest tires which constitute the second 
agency contributing to the destruction of the forests. Fires, of 
course, have been prevalent since the da} r s of Indian occupation, but 
it is only in recent years that they have been attended with such dis- 
astrous results. Grazing is an important industry in this region and 
the idea is prevalent that pasture lands are improved by being burned 
over yearly- Fires are started also by farmers to help in clearing 
new patches of land, and no attempt being made to check them, they 
creep through the forests year after 3 T ear, scorching the butts and 
roots of trees, destroying the seedlings, and burning up the forest 
litter and humus. The effect of these tires is seldom appreciated, inas- 
much as they do not often kill the larger trees. But where the spring 
fires are of yearly occurrence it is impossible for the seedlings to grow. 
Under such conditions a forest can not reproduce itself. As the trees 
die out or are cut for lumber, they are replaced by worthless shrubs 
and brush that sprouts from the roots. 



10 APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 



CLEARINGS. 



Greater than either of tnese agencies in contributing to the destruc- 
tion of the forests is the damage done by clearing, for agricultural 
purposes, lands which are not tit for farming lands, but should remain 
forever in forest. From } r ear to year the farmer, abandoning his 
worn-out fields, moves up the side of the hills, clearing additional 
patches which can not at best last more than four or five years. After 
the trees have been deadened and the shrubs removed, corn may be 
planted on the patch for a year or two, then grain for a year, grass 
for a year or two, then it may be used as a pasture for a year or two, 
after which its usefulness is over. During this time the color of the 
soil has gradually changed from a dark gray or black to red, as it loses 
its organic matter. Becoming more and more impervious to water, it 
yields to erosion, and the field is given over to weeds and gullies. 

The tan-bark industry is also a growing industry in this region. 
Every year thousands of cords of bark are shipped from this section, 
stripped from the trees, which are either left standing to die or are left 
on the ground to rot. 



Thus the lumbermen, the forest fires, and the farmers have cooper- 
ated to destroy these forests. Already serious damage has been done, 
and a continuance of present methods and conditions must inevitably, 
in the near future, result in the destruction of this great natural 
resource of the Southern Appalachians. But these agencies have not 
only contributed to the downfall of the forests; they have made pos- 
sible the serious Hoods that have of late years characterized the rivers 
that flow out of this region. In the virgin forests the ground is cov- 
ered with a blanket of decayed vegetable matter, often a foot or more 
thick, the mulch of the forests, which acts as a sponge to absorb. the 
water that falls upon it. The branches of the trees break the force 
of the rainfall, and their roots, extending deep down into the soil, 
when decayed, furnish a network of underground channels which take 
up the water, and weeks later send it out as innumerable springs at 
the foot of the hills. Here, where the rainfall sometimes reaches a 
total of 105 inches in a year, nature has provided this sponge, which 
acts as a great reservoir, storing up the water and feeding it out slowly 
and regularly to the streams that have their source in these mountains. 
But where the tires have consumed this humus or sponge, and where 
the soil has lost its organic matter, as in the abandoned hillside clear- 
ings, no check is opposed to the force of the waters, which, sweeping 
down the steep hillsides, flood the rivers, sweeping away bridges, dams, 
and mills, destroying public roads and fertile valleys and tilling up 
navigable streams with the silt brought down with it. It is estimated 
that the direct loss by flood in this region from Aprift 1, 1901, to April 
1, 1902, amounted to $18,000,000, and as the forest destruction con- 
tinues these floods will become more and more disastrous. The 
destruction of the sponge reservoir also affects seriously the low -water 
flow of the streams and threatens to destroy the value for water 
power. The protection and preservation of the great natural resources 
of this region resolves itself then into this — the protection and preser- 
vation of the forests. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 11 



CONCLUSION. 



The application of practical forestry to this region would not only 
preserve the productive capacity of the forests, but would protect the 
water power as well and would go far toward preventing the frequent 
recurrence of disastrous floods. Protection from tire is practicable 
without great expense, the hard-wood forests of this region being by 
no means so inflammable as the coniferous forests of the North and 
West. Under favorable conditions the reproductive power of these 
forests is remarkable, and a reservation would soon become self-sup- 
porting from the sale of timber. As a health resort, no region offers 
more natural facilities. Within twenty-four hours of 60,000,000 peo- 
ple it would become one of the great vacation grounds of the nation. 

The various States in which it is proposed to locate this reserve have 
already by legislative acts conferred upon the United States Govern- 
ment the right to acquire titles to these lands and exempted them from 
taxation. They can not, on account of the proposed location of the 
reserve in more than one State and their own lack of funds, be expected 
to go much further. Nor can we look to the individual landowners 
for any improvement in present methods. Only cooperation on a 
large scale, such as Government ownership would insure, can stop this 
unwise cutting, regulate clearings, prevent disastrous tires, and pre- 
serve to the nation the great natural advantages and resources of this 
wonderful region. 

HISTOKY OF SOUTHERN APPALACHIAN RESERVE LEGISLATION. 

April 21, 1900. — Bill by Senator Pritchard providing an appropria- 
tion of $5,000 fo*r a preliminary investigation. 

April 26, 1900. — Bill passed the Senate and became a law on July 1. 

Jan uary 1, 1901. — Report of the Secretary of Agriculture regard- 
ing the preliminary investigation made sent to Congress. 

January 19, 1901. — President McKinley presents above report 
with a special message recommending its favorable consideration by 
Congress. 

January 10, 1901. — Bill by Senator Pritchard providing an appro- 
priation of $5,000,000 for the establishment of the Southern Appalach- 
ian Reserve. 

January 28, 1901. — Favorable report on bill providing an appropria- 
tion of $5,000,000 from the Committee on Agriculture. 

December 10, 1901. — President Roosevelt transmits report of the Sec- 
retary of Agriculture on the forests, rivers, and mountains of the 
Southern Appalachian region to Congress with recommendation that 
Congress consider it favorably. 

In addition to the foregoing a bill in 1904 passed the United States 
Senate but the House took no action on it. 

THE WHITE MOUNTAIN FOREST RESERVE. 

The White Mountain region, in which by far the larger part of the 
proposed White Mountain Forest Reserve will lie, covers an area of 
approximately 812,000 acres, most of the land being far "better suited 
to forest production than to agricultural use." The three principal 
ranges of mountains contain nine or more peaks over 5,000 feet in 
height. In the Franconia Range, to the southwest Mount Lafayette 



12 APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 

towers 5,259 feet, flanked by mountains of nearly equal altitude. 
Mount Washington (6,293 feet), the second highest peak east of the 
Mississippi River, occupies a conspicuous position in the lofty Presi- 
dential Range in the center, while the Carter Range, to the northeast, 
although not so high as either of the other ranges, contains peaks of 
very considerable elevation. 

Formerly this entire region, with the exception of the summits of 
the highest mountains, was covered with a dense unbroken forest that 
stretched without interruption to the northern limits of the State, and 
even now the greater part of the region is forested, though clearings 
have been made along the railroads and in the river valleys. It must 
not be supposed," however, that all of this growth is timber or even 
destined to become timber in the course of time, for careless lumber- 
ing and repeated fires have in some places worked havoc with the for- 
est cover, and the growth there is of a worthless character. 

THE FORESTS. 

The lower slopes of the mountains, up to an altitude of 1,800 feet, 
and rarely extending beyond 2,100 feet, are covered with a growth of 
hard woods typical of the region and latitude — the hard and soft maple, 
yellow and white birch, and beech, to name only a few of the more 
common. From 1,800 to 3,500 feet the red spruce, the most valuable 
of all forest trees in northern New Hampshire, predominates, though 
mixed with balsam (fir) and some of the hardier broad-leafed species. 
From 3,500 to 1,200 feet the conifers, with occasionally a birch, are 
alone able to make successful growth, while above 1,200 feet we find 
only a scrubby stand of balsam, prostrate shrubs, an4 bare rock. 

The character of the growth depends somewhat on the aspect of the 
mountains and their gradient, but in general the four forest belts above 
named are traceable throughout this region. 

More than 180 different species of woody plants grow in New Hamp- 
shire, man}' of these of great commercial value, but the forests in the 
north of the State are preeminently forests of conifers, unlike the tim- 
ber lands of the proposed Southern Appalachian Forest Reserve, where 
hard woods predominate. Of the conifers, the red spruce, as above 
stated, is by far the most valuable. It represents 82.5 per cent of the 
total cut of all species. Balsam and white spruce (the latter in the 
extreme north), tamarack, white cedar, hemlock, and white pine (in 
the south) are the other softwoods that make up the bulk of the forest. 

In Albany and Waterville, on the southern edge of the region under 
discussion, the stand of spruce is the heaviest in New Hampshire, being 
90 per cent spruce and 8 per cent birch on the lower levels. Here, in 
the Connecticut Lake region on the north, in the upper part of the 
Magallowuv River basin (the best timbered watershed in the State), 
and on the northern and eastern slopes of the Presidential Range, are 
the only considerable tracts of virgin forest now standing. The total 
area is not far from 200,000 acres. 

The total stand of soft woods in northern New Hampshire is esti- 
mated at 1,761,000 feet, board measure. 

SCENEKY AND CLIMATE. 

To attempt to describe the scenery of the White Mountains — the 
" Switzerland of America" — would not only be superfluous, but would 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 13 

be out of place in this report. Of the many "notches' 1 in the hills, 
each has its own charm. The rug-god and precipitous Crawford, or 
White Mountain Notch, at the very base of the Presidential Range; 
the gentler sloping Franconia Notch, with its "Old .Man of the Moun- 
tains;' 1 the Pinkham Notch, with Glen Ellis Falls, and the startling 
Dixville Notch, in the north, produced by sonic titanic convulsion of 
nature long ago, have attractions that are not equaled east of the 
Rockies,, while the towering summits of the "White Hills and the green- 
clad slopes of the mountains farther south, interspersed with lakes and 
streams, afford each year to many thousands from all over the country 
unrivaled opportunities for rest and recreation. 

As a summer resort the White Mountain region is without a peer. 
This region is within a day's easy travel of more than 10,000,000 people, 
who have been quick to take advantage of the opportunities given them. 
It is estimated that the returns from the summer-resort business alone 
in this one State amount to more than $8,000,000 annually. 

The existence of this region as a health resort depends directly upon 
the preservation of the forests, either absolutely or through conserv- 
ative lumbering. The denudation of the timber lands is followed 
very frequently by an invasion of fire; the few remaining trees are 
destroyed; the ver} r soil in some cases is consumed, and the rivers at 
their sources become at best feeble and intermittent. When the forests 
are gone and the streams have dwindled the mountain region will no 
longer be a desirable place for summer residents, and they will be 
compelled to go elsewhere. This is no conjecture. Beyond doubt 
many people who formerly frequented the White Mountains now spend 
their summers in Canada for no other reasons than those named above. 

The climate of the White Mountains, though cool, is dry and bra- 
cing, tempered by elevation and proximity to the sea. Even this is 
dependent in a large measure on the preservation of the forests in their 
substantial integrity. 

RIVERS AND LAKES. 

The White Mountains constitute the great watershed of the New 
England States. Five of the principal rivers of this section of the 
countiy rise or have important tributaries that originate there, and all 
of the New England States save one, Rhode Island, are concerned in 
the preservation of their even flow. 

The Connecticut is the largest river in New England. Rising in the 
Connecticut lakes, in the extreme northern part of New Hampshire, 
it forms the boundary between that State and Vermont and, flowing 
through Massachusetts and Connecticut, empties into Long Island 
Sound, 375 miles from its source. The drainage basin covers, approx- 
imately, 677,179 acres. The most important tributaries of the river 
in northern New Hampshire are the Upper Ammonoosuc, Israels 
River, and the Lower Ammonoosuc, all of which rise in the White 
Hills. 

The M^rrimac River is formed b}- the junction of the Winnepesau- 
kee and Pemigewasset rivers at Franklin, N. II., about 110 miles from 
its mouth, at Newburyport, Mass. The W T innepesaukee River drains 
the lake of the same name, the largest natural reservoir within the 
boundaries of the State. The Pemigewasset River, with its numerous 
tributaries, reaches into the very heart of the White Mountain region, 



14 APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 

receiving the drainage of the larger part of the Franconia range as 
well as that of two very considerable lakes, Squam and Newfound. 
The drainage basin of this river (the Pemigewasset) covers 343.512 
acres. 

The Androscoggin River receives the drainage of the extensive 
Rangeley chain of lakes, most of which lie in Maine, but many impor- 
tant tributaries, particularly along the Magalloway and on the Andro- 
scoggin proper, in the vicinity of Berlin and Gorham, receive their 
waters from the New Hampshire mountain system. The drainage 
basin of this river covers 480,272 acres. 

The Saco, the fourth of the rivers that drain the territory under 
discussion, rises in the heart of the Crawford Notch and flows south- 
east, emptying into the sea below Saco and Biddeford, Me. Its drain- 
age basin, within which are several extensive lakes, covers 444,435 
acres, and the major part of its waters are received from the mountains 
of New Hampshire. 

A fifth river, the Piscataqua, forms for some distance the boundary 
between New Hampshire and Maine and furnishes considerable water 
power on its upper reaches. 

New Hampshire as a whole is singularly fortunate in the number of 
lakes and ponds that constitute natural reservoirs and assist very mate- 
rially in preserving continuity of flow in rivers and smaller streams, 
but in the immediate vicinity of the region where the larger part of 
the proposed reserve should be established these natural reservoirs 
are entirely lacking, and the streams depend for their constant supply 
on the waters stored in the spongy duff that forms the forest floor and 
kept from evaporation by the dense shade of the forest cover. 

The water power developed along the five rivers that are thus pri- 
marily dependent for their supply of water on the perpetuation of the 
forest is enormous and nowhere has it been fully utilized. 

The Connecticut, speaking only of the main river, has a total fall of 
2,038 feet and is capable of being rendered one of the most valuable 
rivers in the world. ''The power developed at Holyoke, Mass., is the 
largest in the country, except that at Niagara." 

The Merrimac, as a source of water power, is justly famous. The 
total fall of the main river is 269 feet in 110 miles, the fall being con- 
centrated, however, at six principal points, thus giving maximum 
power facilities. There has been developed an aggregate of over 40,000 
horsepower at Lowell, Lawrence, and Manchester, and on the tribu- 
taries of the river the total utilized horsepower is in excess of 45,000. 

Brunswick, Auburn, and Lewiston, in Maine, and Berlin and Gor- 
ham, in New Hampshire, are important manufacturing towns on the 
Androscoggin; Saco and Biddeford on the Saco; and Dover and 
Somersworth on the Piscataqua and its tributaries. 

The population of the thirteen cities and towns mentioned was, in 
1900, 355,329, and many other populous communities that are largely 
dependent upon one of these five rivers for their prosperity and use- 
fulness could be enumerated. Moreover, the fact that the supply of 
drinking water for several of these centers of population is taken from 
the streams named should not be overlooked. 

All of these five rivers are of value for purposes of navigation, and 
the agricultural industries along their banks are of no minor impor- 
tance. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 15 

Rainfall and water storage. — The average annual rainfall in New 
Hampshire is about 42 inches, and this amount has varied but little in 
the years since observations were first made, but " it is the amount of 
water that passes into the soil, not the amount of rainfall, that makes 
a region garden or desert." 

It is not claimed by the advocates of this bill that an increase or 
decrease of the forested area will in any way affect the total rainfall- 
forests appear to be the result of rainfall rather than the reverse — but 
it is contended that " the forest is the most effective agent known in 
regulating the disposition of the precipitation after it reaches the 
ground." 

Water escapes from the ground upon which it falls in one of four 
ways — by transpiration, evaporation, surface run-off, or seepage. The 
presence of forests may increase slightly the amount of moisture that 
is lost through transpiration, but this is more than offset by the greatly 
increased retentiveness of the soil due to the presence of the forest 
cover. 

The shade of the trees and the obstacle they oppose to the force of 
the winds materially lessen the evaporation. European observations 
covering many years show that evaporation from wet surfaces on the 
floor of the forest is but one-third or one-fourth that from similar 
surfaces in the open. 

The branches and leaves of the trees break the force of the rain and 
extend the period of time during which it reaches the soil. The force 
of the impact is thus decreased and hardening of the forest floor pre- 
vented. The roots and trunks of the trees also tend to hold in place 
the accumulation of litter which absorbs the rain and melted snow and 
greatly reduces the Surface run-off. 

The principal avenue of escape for the water from a forested area 
is, therefore, through seepage. The water is given off gradually from 
the ground, and the flow of the streams is thus made even and perma- 
nent. 

Forests are a most important factor in preventing floods and the 
succeeding droughts. That New England has not suffered more 
severely from the former is due perhaps to the fact that her river 
beds are generally deep and capable of containing an amount of water 
much in excess of the average flow, but the Amoskeag- Manufacturing 
Company, at Manchester, N. H., some years ago, it is said, lost more 
than $100,000 from a freshet, and other instances might be named. 
Droughts, too, are not uncommon. 

In Bulletin No. 7 of the Forestry Division, United States Depart- 
ment of Agriculture, published in 1902, are given a number of well- 
substantiated examples of forest influences in this countiy. A few 
will suffice for a proper understanding of the subject: 

In the year 1881 the State of New Hampshire established a forest commission, who 
were instructed to inquire, among other matters relating to the forests, into "the 
effect, if any, produced by the destruction of our forests upon our rainfall, and con- 
sequently upon our ponds and streams." In their report, made in 1885, the com- 
mission presented a summary of the large number of replies to their inquiries. These 
replies came from all parts of the State. From the summary the following citations 
arc made: 

"Beginning with the southern portion of the State, and with the town of Rich- 
mond, attention is called to a small stream there, which in 1865 furnished sufficient 
power for four sawmills nearly all the year, but which began to dry up with the 
more rapid removal of the timber occasioned by the introduction of steam as an 



16 APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 

auxiliary power. The water and the woods have disappeared together, and the 
same is the case in other portions of the town. 

"In Fitzwilliam and Rindge the same results have been reached all the more rap- 
idly because of the nearer proximity of these towns to a market. Well-known trout 
streams, once abundantly stocked with fish, are now dry half of the year, and the 
treeless ground and naked rocks along their banks and about their sources are con- 
sidered a sufficient explanation. 

"The chairman of the board of selectmen in Henniker, who has given much atten- 
tion to the subject, is confident that the water in the Contocook River has decreased 
fully one-third within even twenty years, and that the tributaries have fallen off 
still more, many being nearly dry in the summer. During this period $75,000 worth 
of timber has been cut within this one town. In the surrounding towns, also, the 
timber has disappeared with equal rapidity, and the water supply has seriously 
decreased. 

"The report from Bow, which covers a period of fifty years, within which most 
of the timber has been cut off, and that from Hopkinton, which covers a period of 
sixty years, both tell the same story of naked hillsides and diminished streams. 

"At Hanover the Connecticut River for many years has been decreasing in volume, 
and with increasing rapidity the timber from its headwaters has been floating by. 

"In Canaan sixty-five years ago there were nine or more mills of different kinds; 
abundant water power all the year around; no thought of reservoirs or double dams, 
pr precautions against drought. Canaan street, now covered with a firm, dry sod, 
was laid out through a swamp, impassable but for the hummocks and fallen trees, 
while dense forests of giant trees covered the hills. The writer w T ho furnishes the 
above facts, a native of the place, returning after an absence of thirty years, found 
the hills and rocks bare, the springs choked up, and the mills obliged to resort to 
steam power or lie idle. 

"The great mountain region of the State lies in contiguous parts of the counties of 
Grafton, Carroll, and Coos. The numberless streams originating in this region, pro- 
tected by the primitive forest, might bethought to be beyond any disturbing causes, 
but such is not the case. The town of Littleton depends upon the Ammonoosuc for 
its water power, but three of its oldest citizens testify that this power has diminished 
one-third within fifty or sixty years. The mountain forests during this same period 
have been encroached upon as never before, and it is not surprising that so commonly 
these two facts are associated as cause and consequence. 

"Coos County contains more of the first growth of timber than any other portion 
of the State. In the midst of this region are the sources of the Connecticut, Andros- 
coggin, Saco, and their many tributaries, and a diminished water supply at this 
point is felt throughout the course of these important streams. The report from Jef- 
ferson is that the older inhabitants agree that the streams are smaller than formerly. 

"An intelligent observer at Berlin, on the Androscoggin River, makes the following 
important statements, covering a period of twenty-six years. Within a radius of 4 
miles from his residence are eight streams or brooks and two ponds, and the the water 
in each during the above period has materially diminished. As an illustration of the 
connection between the removal of the woods and this diminished supply, he adds 
that 'six years ago he supplied his stock with water from what was then an unfail- 
ing brook, by means of an aqueduct which furnished 300 gallons per hour. Now 
that the trees along the stream have been destroyed by the woodman's ax and by 
forest fires, his water supply is cut short in summer by drought and in winter by 
frost. Hundreds of acres of timber have been cleared within these six years in the 
same vicinity.' " 

At Lancaster, the county seat, on the Connecticut River, an old resident reports 
"an alarming decrease in the water of the streams and springs during the past sixty 
years, and especially during the last twenty-five years, within which period the 
smaller timber also has been removed. Israels River in his boyhood was a large 
mill stream 8 or 10 rods wide, with sufficient water to carry a very large amount of 
machinery the year round. Now it is an insignificant stream, with, from May to 
November, not more than half the water it had fifty years ago, and not more than 
two-thirds there was twenty-five years ago. Other streams have suffered in the same 
way, and the springs have, if possible, suffered more than the streams. Many, once 
thought to be never failing, are now for long periods dry. That the cutting off the 
forests accounts very largely for this change he considers as sure as that effect follows 
cause, and the result is hastened by the reckless methods in use. Instead of cutting 
timber that is matured, everything is cut to the size of 5 or 6 inches in diameter, and 
what remains is cut into firewood or burned at once, leaving a dreary waste." 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 17 

PURPOSES AND BENEFITS OF THE RESERVE. 

1. PRESERVATION OF FORESTS. 

The first great object of a forest reserve is the perpetuation of the 
various species of trees that are found within its limits for the use and 
enjoyment of future generations. It must not be supposed that a 
forest, once cleared, will reproduce itself always, or even generally, in 
like form. In unculled forests of conifers, reproduction of soft woods 
is usual, but where hard w T oods are mixed with conifers, the second 
growth consists largely of the broad-leafed species, owing to their 
faster relative growth at first and the greater ease with which they are 
seeded. Only on the upper slopes is the reproduction generally in 
conifers. 

Therefore it can readily be seen that the total area of soft woods is 
constantly diminishing, and when fire comes in to further complicate 
the processes of nature the end of the spruce growth seems in sight. 

Even when allowed to reproduce without let or hindrance, few of 
the valuable species of soft woods become merchantable in less than 
sixty to one hundred years. "At 3,000 feet it takes a spruce tree one 
hundred and twenty-five years to become 6 inches in diameter." 

Under private ownership no such conservation of the timber supply 
as is necessary can be had. Impelled by the desire for immediate 
returns from their investments and fearing that any moment their 
holdings may be seriously depleted by tire it is natural that the own- 
ers of forest lands should have but little interest in future crops not 
to be harvested in their lifetimes. Operators of the larger paper, 
pulp, and lumber mills in New T Hampshire, however, have in some 
instances come to realize that the perpetuity of the mills depends 
directly upon the productive capacity of the forest, and initial efforts 
are being made, through the application of correct forestry princi- 
ples, to insure an endless supply of raw material. 

These individual efforts of necessity must proceed very slowly, and 
before the entire threatened area can be brought under private con- 
servation irreparable damage will have been done to the forest cover, 
which is of primary economic importance to all New England. 

2. PRESERVATION OF WATER POWER. 

The forests of the White Mountains, as has been shown, have a 
direct effect on the water power of five of the New England States. 
Their preservation by Federal action, as a matter of farsighted 
economy, would be justifiable on this ground alone. 

3. PREVENTION OF FIRES. 

On the prevention of forest fires rests the whole problem of valua- 
ble second growth. Fire is more destructive than man; it is the great- 
est enern}^ of the forest, for not only does it destroy the standing 
timber and other merchantable material, but the young growth, the 
seedlings, the seeds, the leaf litter, and even the soil itself. 

The causes of forest fires, in order of importance, are: Railroads, 
carelessness in clearing land, fishermen, campers, and maliciousness. 
Owing- to the fact that the two dangerous seasons of the year, in New 

H. Rep. 4399, 59-1 2 



18 APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 

Hampshire, tire in the early spring- and fall, more fires are set by the 
negligence of sportsmen than would at first seem possible, but prob- 
ably more fires are caused by railroads than by all other agencies 
combined. 

New Hampshire forests have been visited repeatedly by destructive 
conflagrations, though the topography of the country forbids the occur- 
rence of any tire so far-reaching as the Miramichi fire in New Bruns- 
wick in 1825. The Zealand valley has been several times burned over 
and no part of the State has been entirely free. 

The spring of 1903 was particularly dry, the total precipitation was 
much below the normal, and the prevailing winds were unusually high. 
As a consequence fires, kindled by the various agencies above named, 
swept over New Hampshire in every direction. Eighteen thousand 
acres were burned over in the townships of Kilkenny and Berlin alone; 
84,000 acres in the White Mountain region, including, it is estimated, 
30,000 acres of valuable timber land, and more than 200,000 acres in 
the entire State. The total loss was not far from half a million dollars. 

The effect of fire, if it does not entirely destroy the floor of the forest 
and so prevent the return of tree growth except after long years, is to 
permanently change the character of the forest cover. The soil is 
leeched by rains, and many of its valuable constituents are washed 
away. All young conifers are killed, to be reproduced only from seed 
carried by the winds, and the land springs up to the more resistant and 
more rapid-growing species, such as hard woods, poplars, and the 
worthless bird cherry and scrub oak, which keep out all valuable 
growth for from fifteen to twenty years. "The tendency of a repeated 
burn is to increase the number of (valueless) hard woods present." 

The laws of New Hampshire relating to forest fires, their prevention 
and control, are good; but forests owned by private parties are not 
policed as they should be, and only under public ownership can proper 
precautions be taken. The fire problem in the White Mountain region, 
it is expected, will be speedily solved if the proposed reserve is 
established. 

4. FOREST INDUSTRIES IN NEW HAMPSHIRE. 

Jt is a very remarkable fact that "instead of reducing their per 
capita wood consumption as the supplies become less and dearer and 
iron and steel cheaper all civilized nations have within the last forty 
years constantly increased their wood consumption at a rate of from 
3 to 5 per cent a year.' 1 

A very large wood-consuming population is within easy reach by 
land or sea of the timber lands of New Hampshire. Probably the 
forests of this region are more intensively lumbered than those cover- 
ing an equal area in an3 r other part of the United States. 

The wooded area of New Hampshire in 1900 was estimated at 
3,228,000 acres. The total amount of timber cut for lumber was 
570,357,000 feet, board measure, or 177 board feet per acre of wooded 
area, this being the largest cut per acre recorded in an} r State of the 
Union. Wisconsin follows with 175 board feet per acre; Pennsyl- 
vania with 163; Ohio with 161; and so on down to Texas with but 15 
board feet cut per acre of wooded area. 

Obviousty these figures show fairly accurately the extent to which 
the lumber industry is using the forest resources of a State. New 
Hampshire is unquestionably using hers at a rapid rate. 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 19 

And the fact that the average quantity of merchantable timber to 
the acre in New Hampshire is 5,800 feet, or nearly 4,000 feet per acre 
larger than the average stand of the Maine forests, probably explains 
the intensity of the commercial assault on New Hampshire's timbered 
area. In addition, the topography of the State's chief forested area, 
namely, the section under discussion, is such as to render lumbering 
comparatively easy and economical, and the presence of convenient 
trunk lines of railroad greatly facilitates the marketing of the manu- 
factured product. 

The capital invested in the paper and pulp industries increased from 
$1,221,491 in 1890 to $8,163,081 in 1900, and the value of the finished 
product in the same time from $1,282,022 to $7,244,733. The mills 
consumed 196,900 cords of pulp wood in 1900, the larger part coming 
from New Hampshire, and 296,508 cords in 1903, which would indicate 
that the value of the finished product has increased by a third in the 
last three } T ears. The combined holdings of timber land of pulp and 
paper mills in northern New Hampshire are 488,290 acres, including 
the great bulk of the virgin forest. 

The capital invested in the lumber industry in New Hampshire was, 
in 1900, $11,382,114, with a product valued at $9,218,310. 

Conservative lumbering, under proper regulations enforced b} T Gov- 
ernment ownership, is necessaiy for the perpetuit}^ of this great and 
convenient supply of timber. 

5. INCOME FROM RESERVE. 

Lastly, it may be said that the establishment of the proposed reserve 
will be an investment that is destined to result in safe and substantial 
returns 

Sj'stematic removal of the mature trees in a forest will bring in a 
constant revenue, and will at the same time in no wise interfere with 
advantages attendant upon the preservation of the forest cover. 

" Scientific forestry in Germany, France, and Italy gathers an annual 
crop from the trees, which have reached the point where they are com- 
mercially valuable and can be cut, not only without injur}' to, but, on 
the contrary, for the benefit of the whole forest, of from $1 to $5 an 
acre per year net after paying all the expenses of their care." The 
Swiss forests "yield net to the Government $8 per acre a 3 T ear," and 
the statement is made that one of our western reserves, in 1902, 
yielded an income of $20,000 over and above the cost of its protection. 

The total income from the forest reserves of the United States in 
1905 was about $500,000, a remarkable showing in view of the fact that 
the forest service has only recently undertaken to exploit the resources 
of the timber lands under its control. 

In New Hampshire the remnant of virgin forest in the Presidential 
Range is in a compact area; it will be possible, if preserved, to operate 
this tract immediately for revenue. One hundred and ten thousand 
acres will cover all the threatened area, including the entire bulk of the 
Presidential Range, some 60,000 acres. Deducting- the land already 
under reserve — about one-fourth of the whole — held by hotel com- 
panies, railroads, or as farming land, and not to be considered here, 
there remain 80,000 acres of forest and ledge to be taken. Included 
in this acreage is some denuded territory. 



20 APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 

Conservatively estimated, the average annual increment of standing 
timber is 200 feet per acre. At this rate the annual increase on 80,000 
acres is some 16,000,000 feet. The value of spruce stumpage has 
increased in recent years from $2.50 per 1,000 feet to $6 or $8 per 
1,000 feet. The income, therefore, from the 80,000 acres in the Presi- 
dential Range, at the low estimate of $5 a per 1,000 feet, would be 
$80,000 annually. 

A FEDERAL MATTER. 

New York and Pennsylvania have purchased large areas within 
their boundaries as State forest reservations. To protect the waters 
flowing from the White Mountain region and to conserve the supply 
of spruce timber will require the taking of a much larger proportion 
of the small State of New Hampshire. It is impossible for a popula- 
tion mostly farmers, few of whom acquire wealth, to set aside and 
maintain so large a portion of their domain for a reservation for the 
country at large. 

New Hampshire owns no public lands. The rivers which have their 
origin within her borders contribute more largely to the prosperity of 
other States than to hers. She ought not to be expected to burden 
herself with debt for the benefit of her neighbors, nor can they be 
expected to purchase lands outside their own borders for the creation 
of a forest reserve. The Connecticut, for example, is vastly impor- 
tant economically to the States of Vermont, Massachusetts, and Con- 
necticut, but none of these States can rightfully be asked to contribute 
money to be invested entirely within a sister State. 

The Government does much in many waj T s to create wealth for the 
people. But, unlike the great expenditures for river and harbor 
improvement and for irrigation, this is a proposition not for the crea- 
tion of wealth but for its preservation. The advantages to be gained 
are not local and temporary, but destined to bring benefit to many 
States and to generations yet to come. 

Since 1891 the National Government has been committed to the 
establishment of forest reservations, and at present approximately 
100,000,000 acres have been reserved, with an aggregate value of more 
than $250,000,000; yet only one of the reserves so far established is 
east of the Dakotas. All but the Minnesota reserve are west of the 
one hundred and third meridian, while at present more than nine- 
tenths of the population of the United States is found east of that line. 

France has involved herself in vast expenditures for the reforesting 
of a large mountain area, and Italy is similarly engaged. It costs the 
former country $50 and the latter $21 to replace the forest cover on a 
single acre, and this is expected only to start the growth of the new 
forest. It will be at least half a century before the reforesting will 
be measurably beneficial. Even then the character of the forest floor 
will be far from ideal, and centuries will be needed to effectually bring 
back the qualities that make it of such great economic value to the 
lands below. 

It is not the main purpose of this bill to reforest the proposed 
reserve, but to protect the forest cover already in existence. 

The demand for immediate action is imperative if the remaining 
virgin timber in the White Mountains is to be preserved. Quite as 



APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE, ETC. 21 

great is the demand for proper regulations to control the cutting- of 
the secondary growth and to prevent the depredations of lire. 

The magnificent forest system of Germany, as exemplified particu- 
larly in the Black Forest, commends itself to every student of the 
forest problem, and it is evident that the National Government alone 
can undertake and successfully carry through works of this magnitude 



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